1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an umbrella, in particular a sun umbrella or rain umbrella, with a holding structure and an umbrella canopy suspended on it by means of a joint, where the joint can be locked by means of a cable or Bowden wire which runs through at least a part of the holding structure.
2. Description of Related Art
From the leisure and garden areas, umbrellas of the type under discussion have been known for years. Because of their construction, in which the canopy of the umbrella is suspended on the holding structure, they are also called hanging umbrellas. In these umbrellas the holding structure usually comprises a stand tube curved in the shape of an arc, said stand tube ensuring that the canopy is at a distance in the radial direction from the anchoring of the holding structure on the base. Thus, in the case of hanging umbrellas, the area lying below the canopy can, in an advantageous manner, be completely utilized.
To make it possible to adjust the height of the canopy and to ensure good ability to store the umbrella the holding structure of the umbrella is often implemented to be telescopable so that it can be collapsed or expanded as needed. In the case of other forms of construction the holding structure can be folded up. In both of these cases, due to the jointed suspension of the canopy, a space-saving laying away of the, then expediently folded up, canopy by folding onto the holding structure is made possible. During the use of the umbrella, i.e. during the time spent under the canopy, the jointed suspension of the canopy is, on the contrary, usually not desirable. Since the canopy provides, in the forms of construction being used, a large surface exposed to wind and has a high mass, unintentional tilting movements of the canopy can represent a safety risk.
To solve this problem DE 10 361 775 A1 shows a sun umbrella in which the joint by means of which the canopy is suspended can be locked in its operational state. For this purpose a connecting element (16) projecting upwards (cf. reference numbers in DE 10 361 775 A1) is fastened to the pole carrying the canopy and in said connecting element a guide pin (19) is disposed in the transverse direction. In a connecting piece (5) which is formed so as to be complementary to this and is fastened to the holding structure, elongated holes (18) are formed on both sides of a receiving area and bear the guide pin (19) in a manner such that the plug-in part (16), together with the canopy fastened to it, can be displaced with respect to the connecting piece (5) along a certain path of traverse. Due to a lateral recess provided on the connecting piece (5) the plug-in part (16) can be turned in its lower traversed position by 90° in the clockwise sense. Thereby the canopy can be laid on the holding structure. In its upper traversed position, on the contrary, the plug-in part (16) is blocked in its ability to turn with respect to the connecting piece (5) so that the canopy is locked with respect to the horizontal inclination.
To be seen as disadvantageous in the construction described is the fact that the canopy can only be locked in a single angular position with respect to the holding structure, namely in the state of extension from the connecting piece to the plug-in part. The, as required by the concept, displaceable mounting in the elongated holes furthermore requires a greater height of the holding structure in order to achieve a height of the canopy equal to that in the conventional mode of construction. Finally, the described construction requires that to lock the joint the entire canopy be lifted by means of the cable or Bowden wire. Due to this particularly strong forces act on the cable or Bowden wire.
It is thus the object of the present invention to develop and extend an umbrella of the type under discussion in a manner such that the canopy can be locked in different tilting positions, i.e. different angular positions of the joint. Furthermore, the umbrella should have a low height and the force to be applied by the cable or Bowden wire for locking should be reduced with respect to that applied in the case of known umbrellas.